Notes on Indian History


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Notes on Indian History, 664 1858 (Classic Reprint)


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Excerpt from Notes on Indian History, 664 1858 From the fifties on, Marx carefully studied India as a colonial country where diverse forms and methods of colo nial rule and plunder had been practised. He also took interest in India because she still retained, to a certain degree, relations peculiar to primitive communal society. However changing the political aspect of India's past must appear, her social condition has remained unaltered since her remotest antiquity, until the first decennium of the 19th century, Marx wrote in The British Rule in India, Selected Works, English edition, Moscow, Vol. I, p. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.




The Making of History


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A Marxist scholar and historian, Irfan Habib has been a towering presence in the Indian intellectual scene for over four decades. His formidable intellectual reputation, established in the sixties with the publication of The Agrarian System of Mughal India, broadened as he became an authority in the entire area of Indian history from ancient to modern. Professor Habib's undiminished commitment to the cause of socialism is reflected in these highly original and bold analyses of Marxist historiography and theories of socialist construction. This volume comprises essays from scholars around the world representing the wide variety of Habib's interests and contributions. Ranging from history to politics and economics, the essays cover both the medieval period and modern India, as well as theories for the future of this emerging superpower. This special edition also features an essay by Irfan Habib, originally published as The Economic History of Medieval India: A Survey, covering the Delhi Sultanate, the Vijayanagara economy and the economy of Mughal India.




The Popular Front and the Global Circulation of Marxism through Calcutta, 1920s-1970s


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This book examines the global circulation of Marxism seen from one of its most highly charged sites: Calcutta in India. Building on but also revising existing approaches to global intellectual history, the book presents the circulation of Marxism through Calcutta as a historically-sited problem of mass mediation. Using tools from media studies, the book explores the way that Marxism was presented to the public, the technologies used, and the meanings of Marxism in twentieth-century Calcutta. Demonstrating how the Popular Front was split between the so-called 'people's group' and those whom were called 'intellectuals', the book argues that the people's group generally identified themselves as Marxists and preferred audio-visual media such as theatre, while the so-called intellectuals privileged academic rigour and print media, usually referring to themselves as Marxians. Thus, the author reveals a polyphony of Marxisms in the Popular Front. Tracing Marxism back to the Bengal Renaissance and the Swadeshi and Naxal movements, this book shows how debate around the meaning of 'Marxism' continued throughout the 1970s in Calcutta, and eventually engendered the historiographical movement that has come to be known as Subaltern Studies.




India as an Organization: Volume One


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This book is an analysis of the political and philosophical foundations of the development of India's economy, including discussions of what's gone wrong in the past and what can be done to rectify it. The authors provide a detailed analysis of the history and burning issues derived from these historical analysis which are still unresolved today. As well as this, there are analyses of the political economy and both ancient and modern historical perspectives.




Uprising of 1857


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This book entitled, “Uprising of 1857: Some Facts about Failure of Indian War of Independence” includes much detail on the nature and character of the Uprising of 1857. Although, it is a general history, which emphasizes every aspect of the Uprising, throws much light on the events, places, and personalities directly concerned to the Uprising of 1857. Many dimensions of the Uprising particularly distinct perspectives such as popular, national, military, religious, etc. has been analyzed in the modern context, and independent research and thinking. The role of different personalities also has been re-evaluated in the light of contemporary and primary sources. By writing this history the author has presented a new look of the Uprising based on critical analysis of the historical facts. This book is a humble attempt to remedy the deficiency which the author has felt after a long experience of reading and writing history. The British slowly and gradually snatched the political power of India from the Native rulers and on the pretext of moral improvement, the British Government adopted an intolerant religious policy, which led to the conversion from oriental religions to Christianity. Both Hindus and Muslims of this country began to feel that their religion was in danger, and particularly the Muslims due to their fanatical pride, and resented the Christian supremacy. Initially, the Indians resented the policies of the British Government and mobilized the civilians and militia through the famous chapati and lotus distribution. Finally, on 10th of May, the final rising exploded from Meerut which followed the long fight throughout North India. The titular Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was enthroned in the Red Fort, and Delhi was made, once again, the capital of India. The entire history covered under different chapters of this book shows the real picture of the revolt. The whole topics are quite interesting, full of knowledge, and based on authentic sources with little hypothetical narrations.




Western Sociologists on Indian Society (Routledge Revivals)


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Of the five major sociologists whose views on Indian society are assessed in this work, originally published in 1979, Marx and Weber made a special study of the subject and had something definite to say about the future of Indian society. Herbert Spencer was primarily concerned with the effects of colonial rule on India’s progress, while Durkheim and Pareto tended to observe Indian society from a comparative point of view. However, as this study shows, all five sociologists touched on two special aspects of Indian society – Indian religion and the caste system. The other features of Indian society which they discussed in their various writings range widely from marriage and family structure, through village communities and the social structure of cities, to political organization, the educational system, economic conditions, and the future progress of Indian society. Dr Madan demonstrates the correctness of Marx’s contention that the political subordination of India was the one great hindrance to the future progress of Indian Society. He points out, though, that Marx failed to see clearly the effects of the caste system on economic development, and shows that this aspect was more correctly assessed by Max Weber. On the other hand, in Dr Madan’s view, Weber’s observation that Indian religion was ‘other-worldly’ and therefore a great obstacle to progress in Indian society lacked incisiveness. By focusing on a neglected aspect of the writings of five of the great figures in sociology, the book gives a new insight into their work, and at the same time highlights many hitherto unrecognized facets of India’s complex social structure.




The Santal Rebellion 1855–1856


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The book presents a new interpretation of the Santal Rebellion, the Hul 1855–1856, drawing on the colonial sources as well as Santal memories. It offers a critique of postcolonial approaches that overlook specifically tribal perspectives and see the Hul as a class-based peasant rebellion. The author analyses the Hul and its participants—the Santals and their opponents, both the colonial administration and the Bengalis. He also looks at the attempts of the Hul’s leaders, Sido and Kạnhu to reform the Santal religion. Offering a new, respectful reading of the Hul’s religious legitimation, the book argues that changes in Santal religion and ethics were responses to the colonial regime’s new and aggressive economic order. The Hul’s leaders, Sido and Kạnhu, demanded the introduction of just laws based on the universal principle of equality. This historical approach leads to a call for the inclusion of the voice of tribal and Adivasi minorities when formulating politics for their development in the 21st century. The book is relevant for researchers and students of social history, social reform, tribal and indigenous studies, postcolonial studies and South Asian studies.




Desiring India: Representations through British and French Eyes 1584-1857


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The reception and construction of the image of India by the Western, in particular French, German and English travellers, writers and thinkers is the theme of this volume, a collection of twelve essays by academics from sundry parts of the globe. Giving a new twist to Indological, philological or postcolonial understanding of travel narratives, the authors here attempt to give fresh impetus to the discovery of India story from perspectives of cultural history, historiography, ethnography, material culture, economic modes of production, fictional travel, epistolary discourse, theatrical representation of widowhood, women in the Mutiny, feminist reading of the Mughal court, colonial painting and classical music. Circumscribed by the dates of the arrival of Ralph Fitch, the first English traveller and the Mutiny, the first War of Indian Independence this anthology revives an interest in the early modern to the colonial appropriation of India in the Western imaginary.